Finding 44827 (2022-003)

Finding No. 2022-003 Program: Section 8 Project Based Cluster Assistance Listing No.: 14.182, 14.195, 14.249 & 14.856 Federal Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development Award No.: RQ006SC0001, RQ006MR0001, RQ006MR0003 & RQ006MR0004 Federal Award Year: 2022 Compliance Requirement: Eligibility - Notice of Re-certification sent within 90 to 120 days. Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance and Instance of Non- Compliance Criteria: Annual Re-certification [24 CFR sections 5.617, 880.603, 881.601, 882.515, 884.218, 886.124 y 886.324] Municipality of San Juan Housing Department Housing Authority of the Municipality of San Juan will maintain an automated re-certification tracking system and households will be notified by mail of the date and time for scheduled appointments a minimum of 90 days in advance of the anniversary date of their lease and Housing Assistance Payments contract. A listing of all required documentation necessary for the annual re-certification will be provided to the family with the notification of scheduled appointment. This information includes all documentation necessary to verify income, assets, allowances, and deductions along with any additions or deletions of household members. Condition: The Notice of Re-certification wasn?t observed in 1 case of a selected sample of 40 cases. Cause: This situation occurred because the Housing Department did not follow the required procedure as per the Code of Federal Regulations to notify the participants. Due to the backlog in the cases caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, they communicated directly by phone with the participants. Effect: If the family does not appear for the recertification interview, the caseworker may issue a notice of termination of assistance. Questioned Costs None Recommendation: The Housing Department should maintain and adopt a quality control review and checklist that includes all related documents and processes that must be completed for each participant. These procedures will help improve controls and documentation of participant eligibility and reduce the chance of noncompliance. Views of responsible officials: Management concurs with the finding. Isamar Pina Rivera Director of Housing Department Municipality of San Juan